


Kaetus...

by Vadam_T



Category: Mass Effect: Andromeda
Genre: Gunshot Wounds, Immoiblization Field, Kett Technology, M/M, Revenge, Sort Of
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-17
Updated: 2019-06-17
Packaged: 2020-05-13 06:53:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,782
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19246072
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vadam_T/pseuds/Vadam_T
Summary: Upon wrapping up a mission on Kadara, the Pathfinder and his team run into an old face, gunning for revenge.





	Kaetus...

**Author's Note:**

> This is the first Andromeda Story I've done in a while...hope it's worth the upload...it's over 2000 words so I guess it is.  
> This was written in iA Writer - May Contain Errors, Typos and Word Bugs (bzzz)  
> \---  
> If you enjoyed this story, Goody!  
> Take Care Friends, I love you all (^.^)/

**Kaetus...**

****

* * *

KADARA

* * *

  
"...if we're lucky, we can reach the Nomad before this storm gets too serious-" Scott let's out a strangled gasp as something around him stops him in his tracks. His rifle is pulled from his hands, landing on the ground with a loud clunk.  
  
Jaal and Liam who are following close behind both experience the same problem. It only takes a few seconds for each of them to realise what this was...  
  
...a Kett immobilization field. In fact all 3 of them had the same flash-backs to the Archon's Ship, when they were all caught in one.   
    
"You have got to be kidding me." Liam grunts, trying to move and reach his weapon, but he can't for the life of him. "Not again..."  
  
"Don't struggle..." Jaal chides gently to his right. "You'll only make it harder for yourself."  
  
"This wasn't hear when we arrived..." Scott looks about the place, he was certain they'd come through here earlier with nothing like this happening. "Was it?"  
    
"No." Liam shakes his head. "Someone must have set this up after we came through."    
    
"Well done smart-ass." a gruff voice says from the shadows. Scott immediately goes rigid, well as rigid as he can being trapped the way he was.  
  
Kaetus steps towards them, a pistol in his right hand. "Nice to see the Initiative are putting their best forwards for the Pathfinder Teams."  
    
"Kaetus..." Scott breathes. "What- What are you doing here?"    
  
"A little birdy told me the Tempest was on Kadara again." Kaetus ejects the thermal clip of his pistol checking it over before slotting it back in. "I just had to come out and say Hi."    
  
"Well you've done that." Liam bites back, still struggling to move. "Now let us go on our merry way, and leave you to whatever it is you do now."    
    
"You see that's the problem." Kaetus responds, his mandibles clicking together. "...I've had nothing to do for the last 2 and a half years...one of which I spent hopping between Nexus and Resistance Cells."  
  
He glares at the Pathfinder who had gone silent with thought.  
  
"You could have worked with us, Kaetus." Scott sighs, shaking his head. "I gave you the chance, but you wouldn't hear me out...Sloane had gotten into your head."    
  
"I loved her..." The Turian admits as he turns off the safety mechanism on his pistol. "...You have any idea what it's like to have that...then have some outsider tare it away."    
  
"I'm sorry..." The Pathfinder whispers. "Truly..."  
    
"You're sorry?" Kaetus hisses, his eyes narrowing. "You let that bastard kill her and you're sorry!?"  
  
"I had no idea what Reyes was planning But I knew he was scheming something." Scott looks at him. "I was just as clueless as you were."  
  
Kaetus brings the pistol up, hitting Scott hard across the face with it. Jaal flinches slightly, catching his attention.  
  
"You took someone I cared about away from me..." He walks over to the Angara, tightening his grip on the pistol. "I want you to know how that feels..."    
  
"Leave him alone." Liam bites from the other-side. "Don't you dare."  
  
"It's alright." Jaal replies. "I know how he must feel...I was there when she died...and despite all that had happened between our peoples...I felt the loss, and I mourned her too."  
  
He glances at Scott for a second. "Look at him, Do you not think Ryder regrets not being able to save her?"  
  
Kaetus tilts his head. "What?"  
  
"He was right when he said he had no idea." Jaal continues. "We were in the dark about it too...Reyes never told us anything about that scheme, and you can take that from-"    
  
He growls as Kaetus punches him across the face. "I don't believe you!"  
  
"He's not lying!" Scott shouts. "And don't even think about laying another hand on him!"  
  
"I'll do you one better, Ryder."  
  
He raises the pistol to Jaal.  
    
"No!" Liam shouts as a gunshot goes off.   
  
Jaal flinches, a strangled sigh forcing its way out. He looks down at himself as blood starts to pour from a wound on his chest.  
  
"No!!" Scott was trying to move now. "SAM get me out of this thing!"  
  
"You'll get out of this thing when he's dead." Kaetus holsters his pistol. "...I warned you, Pathfinder...I'd get you back you back for you did."  
  
He laughs to himself, looking at Jaal for a second. "You might as well say goodbye now..."  
  
With that, he disappears back into the shadows. Scott struggles to get out of the field, but much like Liam it only makes it harder for him to move.  
  
"SAM...a little help here!"  
    
_["Unless Kaetus shuts down the field..."]_ SAM replies instantly. _["There is only one way to escape one of these immobilization fields, however I do not reccomend it."]_  
  
"No..." Jaal whispers, his eyes heavy and all the strength sapped from him. "Don't...you might not come back either."    
  
"Shut up!" Scott replies. "I am getting you out of here...you just focus on staying alive...SAM?"  
  
_["A direct hit to the chest."]_ SAM says. _["He doesn't have long, you must stabilize him if he is to survive."]_  
    
"Then get me out of this thing!" Scott shouts. "Now!"  
    
"Ryder!-" Liam goes to interject, but he's ignored. "Scott, don't do this, it was down to luck that it worked before!"  
  
"Li-...Listen to him." Jaal coughs a few times. "Don't be so reckless..."  
  
"No...I'm not loosing you! Not here, not now!" Scott shakes his head. "SAM...do it. Do it now."    


* * *

SEVERAL HOURS LATER - ABOARD THE TEMPEST

* * *

  
  
Jaal let's out a groan, slowly coming back to his senses. As he opens his eyes, he's assaulted by the bright lights of the med-bay, and the familiar hum of the Tempest's interior.  
  
Something blurry, and blue appears within his space. He assumes it must be Lexi, who else would it be in this situation. In his mind, he'd just died...he remembers loosing consciousness in that place.  
  
His vision clears as he feels a warm, gentle hand come onto his forehead. Lexi looks down at him, something akin to a smile on her face...but it's laced with concern and...something else.  
  
"How are you feeling, Jaal?" she asks, removing her hand and opening her Omni-Tool, putting in a couple of notes. "You gave us all quite a scare down there."  
  
"Wha- What happened?" he could barely speak, it was like he'd taken a mouthful of sand on Elaaden, his throat was that dry.  
  
"You were shot, at close range..." she replies. "Scott and Liam were able to get you back, but only just in time. We nearly lost you."  
  
"Where are they?"  
    
"Liam's in his room, resting...and Scott." She goes to continue, but then a familiar voice speaks to the left. Jaal turns his head slowly to see the Pathfinder sitting on the bed to the left.  
  
"I'm right here." he replies, glazed over in thought. "I-...I used the same method to get out of the field as we did on the Archon's Ship..."    
  
"I told you not too..." Jaal breathes. "You could have died too."    
  
"He did die." Lexi corrects coldly, lowering her Omni-Tool "Again."  
  
"It was either do that...and have some chance of saving you." Scott mutters. "Or watch you die there and then..."  
  
He huffs a sharp sigh, the thought of the alternative made his stomach turn a little. "What the hell did you think I was gonna do?"    
  
Jaal wanted to say several things at this moment, each of them trying to scream their way out from inside, but he was so drained and so tired that he couldn't muster the willpower to say them.  
  
"At least your safe..." Scott continues. "Right now that's all that matters to me."  
  
"What about you?" Jaal asks, if he could move his arm to reach out to him, he would. "Are- Are you alright?"  
  
"I'll be fine." is the response. "I'll always am."  
  
"I'm going to put you back under for a while, Jaal." he refocuses his attention on Lexi as she speaks. "We're on route to Aya...once we're there, we'll hand you over to your people...get you mended fully."    
  
"Okay..." Jaal nods weakly. Looking back at Scott he notices how miserable he looked. It was similar to the look he had after he did the same thing on the Archon's Ship. He'd need some time to recover from this one, perhaps even more. "Thank you..."  
    
The Pathfinder looks up at him, almost surprised by the remark, the ghost of what could be a smile forming on him. "Don't mention it...I'll see you soon."  
  
Jaal nods, before looking up at the ceiling. Lexi had already applied the sedative that was going to "put him under", and it only takes a moment or so for him to loose consciousness.  


* * *

SOME WEEKS LATER - AYA

* * *

  
  
"How much more of this must we go through?" Jaal asks, rather impatiently. "Clearly I am ready to get back out there."  
  
"You'll be ready the moment that I feel you're capable of handling yourself." Brevin responds, holding a data-pad, reading the notes on it. "Now, I asked you a question about your recent bowel movements...have they been regular?"    
  
"I was shot in the chest." Jaal looks at him, bemusingly. "I doubt that's going to have an effect on how many times I need to relieve myself."    
  
"So should I put in normal?"  
    
"If you want." Jaal's impatience was only growing. "Look, how much longer am I going to be down here...the Tempest leaves in an hour, I don't want to miss it this time."  
  
"Just a couple more questions." Brevin rolls his eyes. "Stars above you're just like your Father...you know that."  
  
"My true mother tells me I inherited his sense of urgency." Jaal replies with a smirk. "Is that all?"    
    
"We have more to go through, this is a complete evaluation for a reason."  
  
Just as Jaal goes to protest, the doors of the medical wing open and in comes Evfra, tailed closely by Sara Ryder, who appears to be getting to him about something.  
  
"Can't I visit my friend in peace?" the Resistance General asks, stopping just a few feet from them. "You really are related to him, aren't you?"  
    
"I'll have you know, General. I'm not only related to him, I'm actually his older sibling my 2 minutes."    
  
Evfra let's out something that could be an amused snort. "You certainly don't act it."    
  
"He was always the serious one." she laughs in return. "Thought he was so important, that the galaxy owed him everything."  
  
She furrows her brows in confusion. "Come to think of it, that's true now... Anyway!"    
  
She immediately turns her attention to Jaal, pushing past Brevin and practically diving on him, giving him a tight hug. "Are you okay, Bubblegum...you had me worried."  
  
Jaal can't help but laugh at the use of the nickname she gave him. He was confused when she first started using it, but after a very amused Scott showed him what bubblegum was...he saw the affection in it, and let it stick.  
  
"Recovered, Ready and Eager to get back to it." Jaal replies into her shoulder. She drops down from him, beaming.  
  
"Don't worry, you're not gonna be left behind." she replies. "Scott wants all the crew ready to go before we head off."    
  
"The sooner the better." Evfra grumbles, flinching as she hits him hard on the arm. "Ow.."  
  
"Watch your tone, Mister...I'm technically an Ambassador you know?"    
  
Evfra looks at Jaal, almost helplessly. "Why did you tell me about this one...What did I do to you in a previous life to deserve this?"    
  
"She's good for you Evfra..." Jaal grins. "Don't lie to yourself."  
  
The light that appears in Sara's eyes as he says that makes him laugh out loud. It's about now that Brevin interrupts. "I would love to hear more about that, but I do have a patient to check up here."  
  
He fires a knowing look back at Jaal. "And now that he knows the Tempest and his Pathfinder aren't going anywhere...perhaps he'll settle down and answer my questions."  
  
Jaal rolls his eyes, a habit he'd picked up from his Milky-Way Counterparts. It was most useful in expressing his impatience. "Alright...fine, just no probing."  
  
Sara whispers to Evfra who goes slightly rigid, he looks at her for a second, then to the floor in rapid thought. Jaal hadn't seen him this flustered in a long time...it was different, good different.  
  
"I don't think we'll need to do an anal reading, but you never know.-" Brevin replies.  
  
"-Actually." Evfra cuts in. "Let him go now...I'd say he's ready as it is."    
  
"With all due respect, Sir." Brevin is about to argue his point gently, but the look that Evfra gives him forces him to reconsider. "...Nevermind."    
  
He puts his data-pad to the side. "Looks like your ready to go, Jaal...try not to get yourself shot again, I prefer you alive."  
  
"I'll try my best." Jaal stands up, rolling his shoulders. He'd been sitting there for a while. He looks at Evfra unable to contain his amusement. "Look at you...you're so...different."  
  
"It's her." Evfra openly admits, not sparing a glance at Sara who is pestering one of the other Medics in the room. "I don't like to admit it...but she has...and effect on me."    
  
"You should explore it." Jaal pats him on the arm. "You might be surprised at what you find."    
  
"That's what frightens me..." Evfra sighs. "Anyway, how are you feeling?"  
  
"I'm suitably anxious to get the hell out of here."    
  
"Those Milky Way lot have done a number on you...haven't they?"  
  
"You have no idea..."  


* * *

A FEW HOURS LATER - ABOARD THE TEMPEST

* * *

  
  
"What happened to Kaetus?" Jaal asks, sitting on the couch in the Pathfinder's quarters. Scott is next to him, his eyes buried in a book. Much like his father, he preferred the paper copies over the digitals.  
  
"I don't know." is his only response. Scott continues reading, turning a page.   
  
This wasn't anything out of the ordinary. Quite regularly, the pair of them would spend hours...just sitting there not saying much at all for long periods of time.  
  
Each others company was enough for both of them.  
  
What little conversation that had happened, was pleasant enough after Jaal returned. But there was a lingering sense of unfinished business, nothing bad...but not entirely good either.  
  
"Scott." Jaal continues, prompting his partner to look at him. "What happened to him?"    
  
"I honestly don't know, Jaal" Scott shrugs. "He disappeared after he shot you, I didn't bother going after him. I had more important things on my mind."    
  
"What happens if we see him again?"  
  
"Nothing." The Pathfinder closes the book over, folding the corner of the page he was on for later. He places it down on the coffee table in front of them. "You survived that incident...it would have been different if you hadn't."  
    
"You aren't the sort of person I could imagine taking revenge."  
  
"I'm not the sort of person who _would_ take revenge." Scott returns, before standing up and stretching. "I need some coffee."  
  
As he walks towards the door, Jaal asks another question on his mind. "What about you? How are you faring...after...you know."  
  
Scott looks back at him, letting out a tired sigh. "If you're gonna start moaning about that...don't bother, Lexi's already given me enough shtick for it."  
  
"I'm asking because I am concerned." The Angara shuffles slightly. "It's not everyday you meet someone who can die and come back to life on a whim."  
  
_["A very fragile whim at that."]_ SAM adds from his node near the Pathfinders terminal. _["It was only luck that I was able to bring him back...yet again."]_  
  
"And I've gotten enough shtick from you too." Scott points at the node. He looks back at Jaal. "I'm fine...and so are you. Forget about Kaetus...and just focus on that, okay?"  
  
Jaal nods slowly, and he makes his leave. Once the door closes, the Angara sits back a little, letting out a deep breath. He brings his hand up to his chest...rubbing at where he'd been shot.  
  
Even now, after everything had been patched up and repaired. He could still feel the impact of it. "Why must he lie to me, SAM?"    
  
_["He inherited his fathers stubbornness."]_ the AI replies immediately. _["The only way to counter that is persistence, something I know you are very good at."]_  
  
Jaal snorts. "You'd be right there..."  
  
\---


End file.
